Stories From Growing Up

TV screenwriter Kenya Barris has urged Judd Apatow to quit ranting online about Bill Cosby's sex assault scandal, branding the director's barrage of comments "strangely obsessive". The Knocked Up filmmaker took to his Twitter.com blog over the weekend (27-28Dec14) and posted a lengthy series of messages urging Cosby to openly address the growing number of sexual assault allegations filed against him in an effort to salvage his reputation after more than 20 women, including models Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson, went public with stories of his reportedly inappropriate behaviour over the years, with some alleged victims claiming they were drugged and raped.
Cosby's attorney has repeatedly dismissed the accusations as false, while the funnyman has remained largely silent on the controversy.
Apatow took aim at the veteran funnyman's approach to the scandal and although he insisted the 77 year old is "innocent until Proven (guilty)", he added, "He should speak publicly about how false this all is. (Provide) 30 alibis... I always wonder why some people try so hard to not believe women who have been assaulted. What is the root of that?"
However, the filmmaker's string of tweets have annoyed Black-ish creator Barris, who criticised Apatow for not ranting about other important issues, like the recent decision not to indict the New York City cop responsible for the chokehold death of unarmed black man Eric Garner in July (14).
Reaching out to Apatow online, Barris tweeted, "Dude. Enough. Not defending him AT ALL, but u do realize this borders on strangely obsessive, right? Where was ur EricGarner (tweet) (sic)".
He added, "It's like ur getn (getting) some sick pleasure from watching a black man who meant so much for so many fall", before concluding his posts by writing, "I'm sorry 2 use a public forum to say this to 1 of my idols but I think it's important to take a moment 2 say 'we get it, Judd'.
"Finally, i want 2 say that ur a genius, national treasure, maverick, & will probably now deservedly ruin my fledgling career."
Apatow has yet to respond to Barris.

Caitlin Mitchell
Recently, we sat down the the beautiful Mizuo Peck, best known for her portrayal as Sacajawea in the Night At The Museum series to prep for the release of the final film in the series, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. We spoke with her about her acting career, that began in a school with many other famous alumni, and got candid about her time in this popular series. She discussed her methods for portraying a historical figure, what it's been like to be a part of this series, and her thoughts on Robin William's impact on the film.
How did you get your start in acting?
I started acting when I was 11-years-old. I was apart of this really great theater company, called TADA!, which is still going strong today. They have a lot of great alum, like Iggy Azalea and Kerry Washington. It really changed my life and got me into this world. I auditioned by singing this song and it got me out of my skin and got my very confident and I learned how to be focused. They really treated us like professionals. We weren’t allowed to get away with, “oh they’re just kids,” no, this was a professional company.
Growing up, did you have any actors/actresses you found inspirational and used as motivation?
Oddly enough, for a long time as a kid I looked up to Johnny Depp. Not only did I think I looked like him a little bit, but also I enjoyed that after 21 Jump Street he could have gone on the pretty boy path, but he fought convention and did all the crazy roles and he wanted to focus on genuine character work. I just remember thinking that was amazing thing to look up to. These days I think there are a lot of actors and actresses that are doing a really great job. I also really like these indie people, like Miranda July and Emily Mortimer, I’m really impressed by her career. Just actresses that are really smart and savvy, who create the work for themselves.
Are there any actors/actresses you’d like to work with in the future? Like someone, that you need to work with?
No, I’d be honored to work with any of them. The list of Cate Blanchett’s, they’re the ones that I idolized. It’d be great to work with them. But for the most part, I just want to be girlfriends with them. I think we’d get along, like Lena Dunham.
What is it like to portray a historical figure? Is there any pressure because people actually know who that person is?
I swear, I did so much research on Sacajawea, because it’s so important to me to make her real. We are playing wax statues of these characters, but her story is so fascinating, so it was really cool for me to watch all these documentaries and read all these books about her life. I could tell you so many stories about her, she was such an asset to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Do you have a particular style for preparing for this role?
Yeah, I read a lot of books. Watched a lot of documentaries. I went to the American Indian Natural History Museum all the way down in Bowling Green, which was beautiful to see all the different artifacts and they have modern Native American art. I also read some of the children’s stories that they had at the library there. It was nice to learn and research, it felt like a great way to get in touch. I took a lot from my time out west, visiting the different reservations and the countryside.
Is there any other historical figure, male or female, you’d like to portray?
As far as playing another historical figure man or woman, it would be fun to play a wild and eccentric artist like Salvador Dali. How about Josephine Baker, the barrier breaking roaring 20's entertainer? The Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono are still very much alive and creating their courageous art. I think they're great and I'd love to portray them some day.
What’s been your favorite trait about this character, as this is the third time you’re portraying her, what do you think is the best thing about her?
It’s funny, because this time around Sacajawea really gets to put her leadership skills out there. She gets to take charge and she gives some sagely advice to Ben’s character, now that they’ve known each other through the years, she’s able to give him some advice about parenting, She’s very confident. There are so many words to describe her, she’s brave and resilient. In one word, I would say she is wise. She does impart her opinion ad advice. She is someone Ben Stiller’s character listens to and looks up to, because she knows what’s up.
So, how would you say what her relationship with Ben Stiller’s character (Larry Daley) is in these films?
Sacajawea has become a link between the magical creatures that are coming alive in the museum. Carla Gugino’s character (Rebecca), the female interest in the film, and he kind of presents Sacajawea as a gift to her to prove he’s not crazy. I think I was like a friend, along with Ahkmenrah and Attila The Hun, we are all a team with Ben. Which is fun, we encounter obstacles together, along with Teddy Roosevelt of course, who is like the team leader, but Ben is the leader too. We’re a very democratic team, everyone gets a say and is respected.
Is there a moment you think fans will look forward to in this movie?
This time around it was really great. What was different is that I’m holding a monkey the entire time.
What was it like working with the monkey?
It was amazing. Yes, I’ve worked with Dexter before and me a Dexter really get to bond. I’m basically carrying Dexter the entire time. People all want to believe that Dexter is a boy, but she’s not. It’s a girl, she’s Crystal. Crystal and I bonded very much. What was amazing is the gestures she gives you. She shows you when she trusts you, when she puts her hands over her teeth, it’s an act of submission to show she won’t bite you. When she gets really comfortable, she grooms you. It was actually a great honor to work with her. And saying goodbye to her at the end, she was at the cast party and she reached out her hand. It was heartbreaking, it was like tearing myself away from this child. She had such a connection with me.
Twentieth Century Fox
Is there any museum you wish you could have unlimited access to like in these films?
The Lourve. That was always the name thrown around, that it would be the next museum we were going to go to. That would be absolutely amazing. I think it would be romantic and mysterious to walk through. We were able to walk through the British Museum at night and it was eerie and really cool to have free reign.
How do you feel like this film will reflect on Robin Williams’ memory? Is there is any scene with him that you feel you’ll really keep with you?
Oh absolutely! Robin and I, from the very start, had a really sweet relationship. Teddy and Sacajawea's relationship does continue on into this third movie. This time around, we were arm and arm, walking around the halls of the museum. Checking things out, checking in on each other. We had this strength and trust in each other. He was my Teddy. I’m always going to remember him as that. He’ll always have a special place in my heart. I do think this movie will be such a celebration of his genius. I feel so lucky to have gotten a glimpse of his wild personality and his spirit. I feel very grateful to have been able to work with him.
How is it going to be, promoting this film and watching it on the screen after his untimely passing?
It’s going to be really tough to watch. Without what happened, the movie is kind of takes a serious note. In the movie, there’s a lot of mortality issues, even though we are mannequins. The tablet that keeps us alive is failing. I think there’s a lot of heart wrenching moments. With Robin’s passing, it’s going to be even more bittersweet to watch.
What was it like working with him?
He’s just pure joy. Especially in this character, you know just the strong, leadership of Teddy Roosevelt in this film. I mean, he is a shining light. I’ll never forget when I first got the job, my agent was like, “Okay, you’re going to be riding a horse...with Robin Williams.” I knew there was going to be some famous people in the film that I wasn’t expecting. It’s been an amazing ride.
What can we expect to see from you in the next year?
I would love to do television! I want to use this momentum to go into pilot season, which is the beginning of the year. I would love to book a TV series. I just got new agents, so I’m going to get on it.
What is it about a TV show you’d like? I know some actors don’t like to do both film and television.
I think these days television is a whole other ball game. It’s so well written and so high quality. I think it’s a dream world of stability. You know, I’d do a million films. But with films, they’re a couple months and then they’re over. With some jobs, it’s only a couple days and it’s over. So that just means you keep having to look, which is obviously part of being an actor, you’re always looking for the next gig. I have this fantasy of rolling up to set and getting ready for the day. There’s just a family feeling that I’m seeking.
Is there anything you’d like to add that you want our readers to be looking forward to in the film?
There’s so many good things! You know, the film is going to be like a surprise to me. There’s so many times we are fighting things that aren’t there. That is an interesting thing to look for, when we’re fighting the 9-headed Chinese dragon, it isn’t there. The was one stunt thing I did, which wasn’t much of a stunt, but wasscary for me. In one part of the movie, I’m opening the doors of the planetarium, not only is it digitally done, I’m on a 30-feet cherry picker. It was most frightening thing, I didn’t realize I was afraid of heights until I got up there. And that’s the magic of movie making.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is in theaters December 19th! Make sure you see it in theaters for one final, incredible ride.

Embattled comedian Bill Cosby has defended his decision not to respond to the growing number of sexual assault accusations levelled against him, insisting "people should fact-check". The veteran star's attorney Martin Singer has repeatedly slammed the historic allegations of inappropriate behaviour from women including model-turned-TV personality Janice Dickinson and actresses Barbara Bowman and Louisa Moritz, most recently dismissing them as "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories", which he claims are "becoming increasingly ridiculous".
Cosby's stand-up tour of the U.S. has been dealt a major blow by the reports, with five of his upcoming gigs being cancelled by organisers amid boycott fears, but now the actor has addressed the growing controversy himself, suggesting he has nothing to answer to.
Speaking to the Florida Today newspaper before his gig in Melbourne, Florida on Friday (21Nov14), he said, "I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact-check. People shouldn't have to go through that and they shouldn't answer to innuendos."
The 77 year old received a show of support from fans attending Friday's gig, where he was given a standing ovation, a day before former Playboy Playmate Victoria Valentino added her name to the list of alleged victims.
In an interview with the Washington Post, published on Saturday (22Nov14), Valentino revealed she met Cosby in Hollywood as she struggled to come to terms with the tragic death of her six-year-old son, who had drowned in a swimming pool in 1969.
They went out for dinner with her friend, Meg Foster, and were invited back to an apartment, where she claims, "He was trying to cheer me up, and he stuck a pill in my mouth. He said, 'This will make us all feel better.'"
Valentino claims Foster passed out after ingesting a similar pill and adds, "It was very clear to me that he was going to assault her while she was asleep or unconscious. I reached out, grabbing him, trying to get his attention, trying to distract him. He came over to me and sat down on the love seat and opened his fly and grabbed my head and pushed my head down. And then he turned me over. It was like a waking nightmare."
Cosby has never faced criminal charges, but reached an out-of-court settlement with a woman in 2006 after she accused him of drugging and groping her.

Promoters behind embattled comedian Bill Cosby's upcoming stand-up gigs in Arizona and Nevada have scrapped the shows in the wake of his sexual assault scandal, after an eighth woman came forward with accusations of inappropriate behaviour. Model/actress Angela Leslie has become the latest female to go public with her alleged sexual encounter with The Cosby Show veteran, claiming he reportedly took advantage of her naivety when she was a hopeful desperate to break into Hollywood.
She reveals she was invited to Cosby's hotel suite when he was performing in Las Vegas in 1992, two years after they first met, and was asked by the funnyman to show him her acting talents by pretending to be drunk.
He allegedly handed her a stiff drink, which she suspects may have been spiked, and reportedly made her fondle him.
Leslie tells the New York Daily News, "I couldn't drink it. I tasted it and put it down. Then he asked me to go into the bathroom and wet my hair... I walked back out, and he had removed his clothing and gotten into bed...
"With his hand on top of mine, he had me massage his penis. He masturbated with my hand. I wasn't pulling back. I was in shock."
However, Leslie reveals her stay in the suite came to an abrupt end soon afterwards: "I didn't drink the alcohol, and maybe since I didn't pass out, he decided to get rid of me."
Leslie's allegations emerge days after actress Barbara Bowman penned an editorial in the Washington Post, accusing the star of raping her 30 years ago. Other reported victims, including model-turned-TV personality Janice Dickinson and bodybuilder-turned-actor Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla, have also since spoken out offering up similar stories about Cosby.
His legal representatives have continued to blast the allegations against their client, and a new statement reads: "The continuing pattern of attacks on Mr. Cosby has entered the realm of the ridiculous. People coming out of nowhere with this sort of inane yarn is what happens in a media-driven feeding frenzy."
Cosby has never faced criminal charges, but reached an out-of-court settlement with a woman in 2006 after she accused him of drugging and groping her.
Cosby returned to the stand-up stage in the Bahamas on Thursday (20Nov14), but made no mention of the fresh wave of allegations.
However, the growing controversy has cost the 77 year old a string of jobs - a Netflix comedy special was postponed earlier this week (begs17Nov14), while a proposed comedy series on America's NBC network has been cancelled.
The ongoing fall out has also prompted casino bosses in Las Vegas and Arizona to scrap two upcoming stand-up gigs in late November (14) and February (15), respectively, while on Thursday, Cosby was dropped from the board of advisers at High Point University in North Carolina.
Cosby's Friday night (21Nov14) show in Florida was still scheduled as WENN went to press.

When Jordin Sparks was just 17, she won season six of American Idol and rose to instant fame and success. The stresses that come along with the industry sparked the Grammy-nominated singer’s first migraine: "Trying to navigate through all the stresses that came with that was very crazy, and I suffered my first migraine."
Stress is a trigger for many migraine sufferers. For Sparks, "stress comes in a whole bunch of different packages and comes from different places and people and things." One can only assume that her very public breakup from Jason Derulo would be a major source of stress for the 24-year-old songbird. Just some of the breakup rumors include: infidelity, an unplanned pregnancy, and pressure to propose, to name a few. Thankfully, Sparks has discovered Excedrin Migraine as a great source of relief for her stress-induced migraines. Go to Facebook.com/Excedrin to read more about how Sparks has been able to find migraine relief as well as stories from other migraine sufferers.
Headaches and breakups aside, Sparks appears to be in very good spirits, laughing and showing off her megawatt smile throughout our sit-down. And she has lots of things going on in her life besides a breakup. For starters, she’s starring in a movie alongside Nicolas Cage.
"It’s still surreal… I had this moment of like, This is happening. I’m actually in a movie with Nicolas Cage." Sparks is talking about the apocalyptic thriller Left Behind, in theaters now. She read all the books growing up and is thrilled to be in the film. "It’s a very interesting movie to a part of… I was very happy to be a part of that." Perhaps this is the beginning of a burgeoning new movie career for the singer.
We may be seeing more of the American Idol vet on the small screen, returning to her roots at Idol in some form in the future. She said she would love to come on the show as a mentor. When asked if she would ever consider being a judge, she seemed reluctant: "You know I don’t know if I could be. Well… If you would have asked me that a couple years ago, I probably would have said no… Now that it’s been about eight years... I feel like I could."
She does have an opinion about current judges JLo, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. Although she is a "huge fan of all of them individually," she told us, "I do have an allegiance to the original judges." Who doesn’t miss the original three - Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson?
Sparks is currently in the studio working on her new album and told Hollywood.com: "It’s coming a lot sooner than you think." The platinum-selling artist told us to expect her third album to drop before the end of 2014. It’s been five years since she’s put out any new music and Sparks said her new sound is "very different," and you can expect it to not really sound like her old stuff at all. "I’ve grown a lot. I’ve experienced a lot. I feel like I’m coming into my womanhood and stepping into that, so… I can relate to different things now." She certainly has been through a lot recently and all that life experience and emotion will undoubtedly come through in her songs. She told us to "expect the unexpected."
Click here to view showtimes and purchase tickets to Sparks' new film Left Behind.

Paramount Pictures via Everett Collection
With extended metaphors about the expanding universe, every troubled teen gambit in the book, and (most of all) that title, Men, Women &amp; Children seems to carry some extreme delusions of grandeur. But despite a sizeable cast and some menacing musical cues, this isn’t the high school Magnolia that Jason Reitman wants it to be. Still, enough instances of charm and humanity peek up from the haze of self-importance, allowing us something entirely watchable… if not all that inspiring.
The film opens with a fresh bounty on the head of the digital age. As we make our way through seven or eight interwoven stories, we watch a vigilant takedown of the myriad toxicities implied by the Web’s place in our society today. Texting, social media, dating websites, personal pages, Tumblr, MMORPGS, discussion forums, and Internet porn all get their 'The More You Know' segments via technologically-induced shortcomings of a Texan suburb with a double dose of Weltschmerz.
The after school specials vary in attraction. While the blossoming romance between acerbic Kaitlyn Dever (whose helicopter mom, Jennifer Garner, tracks every move she makes) and head-in-the-clouds ex-jock Ansel Elgort (who sinks into a World of Warcraft-type game in the wake of his parents’ divorce) has plenty of spark — for which we credit Dever — the marital decay of Adam Sandler and Rosemarie DeWitt is a chapter that we’re consistently trudging through.
Paramount Pictures via Everett Collection
Tying into the self-satisfaction that courses through Men, Women &amp; Children’s every scene is an air of melodrama, the biggest atrocity committed by any of the film’s episodes. Beyond just robbing the movie of authentic gusto, the “overdoing it” approach actually works to undo any of the messages that the film wants to impart — when you’re dealing with paramount issues like depression, eating disorders, and teen pregnancy, it’s imperative to keep things sincere.
Thanks to a ganglion of inherently watchable people — Dever tops the lot, but Dean Norris and Judy Greer make up a screen duo that, despite deficient characters, doesn’t want for much chemistry — and its propensity to keep focus on no individual party for more than a few minutes at a time, Men, Women &amp; Children never becomes an absolute bore. But the pride in what it is saying and such ostentatiousness in how it presents its thoughts dominate. The movie isn’t half the movie it thinks it is.
2.5/5
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Songwriter and instrumentalist Johnny Rotella has died, aged 93. The musician's son, John Rotella, confirmed his father passed away peacefully in his sleep in Van Nuys, California on 11 September (14), just days before his 94th birthday.
A statement from Kathy Spanberger, head of music publishing company Peermusic, reads, "He was not only a gifted songwriter but also a renowned musician and raconteur. I will miss the lunches... I had with Johnny because we got to sit back and listen to the wonderful stories of the days he worked with the greats in our business, including Sinatra, Goodman and Glenn Miller."
While growing up in New Jersey, Rotella played clarinet and saxophone in an array of bands throughout his teens, and after military service in World War Two, he relocated to California, began work as a studio woodwind player and became established on the music scene.
Rotella wrote the anthem Nothing But the Best for Frank Sinatra and recorded with Neil Diamond, Frank Zappa and Steely Dan.
He was a sought after session musician, a band regular on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour variety show in the 1970s, and he wrote more than 200 songs, performed by the likes of Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and Doris Day.

Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
While it would take a special kind of bravery (and madness) to attempt a film adaptation of Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, its “world of possibilities” message is one that can find a cozy home in most any story about growing up. Cozy is just the word to describe Dolphin Tale 2 and its endeavor to carry forth the spirit of Dr. Seuss' final book.
The clean-as-a-whistle family film uses its effectively flawless hero, the high school-aged Sawyer (Nathan Gamble), to celebrate the bounties of stepping out of your comfort zone and into the world. Throughout the film, Sawyer wrestles with a tough decision: does he accept a fantastic opportunity to spend a semester studying marine biology at sea through Boston University, or does he keep anchored to his work at the Clearwater Marine Hospital for fear of leaving his friends — both human and dolphin — behind when he fears they might need him the most?
Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
Sawyer’s conflict carries forth as he and his colleagues (Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Harry Connick Jr.) search for a new cohabitant for amputee dolphin Winter, whose aged pool-mate Panama passes on in the beginning of the movie. The time spent with the animals is the movie’s greatest asset: Tensions hike whenever the team apprehends an ailing dolphin — one bears visible skin injuries, one is undersized and initially contentious with Winter — and the well-being of each rescued creature makes for consistent, palpable drama. Much lighter but perhaps doubly as charming fare surrounds a wounded sea turtle that Hazel (Zuehlsdorff) takes special attention to… and with whom Clearwater’s unofficial mascot Rufus the pelican falls ostensibly in love. Near lethal levels of cuteness ensue.
While the wildlife material thrives on this kind of potent wholesomeness, the human stories suffer just a bit from a complete lack of teeth, incurring boredom on two or three occasions. Nevertheless, Dolphin Tale 2’s heart is admirable and more often than not affective. Saywer and Hazel collect life lessons courtesy of their family, colleagues, aquatic friends, and an occasional Morgan Freeman speech (he’s got a doozy involving a pocket watch metaphor), all to the thematic end of growing up. Founding itself on the values of seizing responsibility and setting sail out into the world, the saccharine, sleepy sequel could actually be a pretty valuable experience for young viewers.
3.5/5
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Josiah True/ WENN
It’s more than likely that your first interactions with George Takei took place aboard the Starship Enterprise. The then little-known actor boarded Gene Roddenberry’s groundbreaking Star Trek series at age 29, working to redefine both his own career and the way that Asians and Asian Americans would be depicted on television forever. It’s also a rather fair bet that your most recent taste of Takei came in the form of social media: Now 74, the film and television veteran has gained a refreshed notability for his amicable presence on Twitter and Facebook, where he is known to share a wide variety of visual and verbal gags as well as his inspiring messages of tolerance and progressive thought. But there is a whole lot of Takei in between the early days of Sulu and the current era of hashtagged witticisms, and that is vast middle section is chronicled in the new documentary To Be Takei.
The third feature-length project from filmmaker Jennifer M. Kroot, whose previous endeavors include the 2003 sci-fi/fantasy Sirens of the 23rd Century and the 2009 biographical doc It Came from Kuchar, details the professional achievements, political activism, and personal life of Takei, who proves to be as accomplished as he is downright likable. The weight with which Kroot approaches the three principal aspects of Kroot’s life tends to vary, leaning in favor of his work for gay rights, but we find ourselves duly engrossed in his personal and professional stories just the same.
The ProfessionalWe learn quite a bit about Takei’s own perspective on his early works (the pre-Sulu days), particularly those that he finds retroactively repugnant due to their embrace of racial stereotyping. Takei recounts the days when the only roles an Asian-American actor might procure were demeaning or even vilifying — clips from Green Berets, Which Way to the Front, and familiar small screen titles like Mission: Impossible and Perry Mason showcase some of Takei’s earlier, more regrettable turns… ones that he was forced to endure in order to make a name for himself in the far more regressive ‘60s and ‘70s.
The PersonalConsidering his family’s personal history, it’s no surprise that Takei has taken particular efforts to quell the negative depiction of Asians and Asian Americans in the United States. In Takei’s childhood, he and his family were imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp, as was not unusual for immigrants and American citizens of Asian descent during World War II. To Be Takei offers a great deal of heartrending footage devoted to Takei describing his family’s hardships during this period — the Hollywood legend illustrates his indomitable admiration for his parents, who exhibited charity and strength of will throughout the nightmare.
But the documentary also pays due attention to the lighter side of Takei’s personal journey, showcasing his relationship with husband Brad Altman: the love of his life… and occasional victim of his ceaseless brutal honesty (at one point, Altman laments Takei’s proclivity for telling people when they have gained a bit of weight, a habit that George himself doesn’t seem to find problematic). Perhaps the most enjoyable bits in the film are those that allow the audience to watch Takei and Altman spend lazy days together, joking and bickering, showing off their complementary incurable merriment (George) and high-strung neuroses (Brad). It’s charming, it’s funny, and it’s indicative of real, healthy love.
The PoliticalFinally, there wouldn’t be much of a story if Takei had not become such a prominent figure in the fight for a more progressive attitude toward ethnic minorities and gay men and women. We see Takei’s spotlighted wedding to Brad (conducted by friend and former colleague Nichelle Nichols), his acceptance of a variety of awards recognizing his work in the area of LGBT rights, and — perhaps his greatest sociopolitical contribution to date — his public lambasting of William Shatner.
No matter when and where you met Takei, be it back during his journeys across the galaxies or amid one of his recent highly celebrated punny tweets, your interests in the man as an actor, a public figure, and a man will be sated by the cheerful, informative doc To Be Takei. Check out the film in select theaters or on VOD now.

Dimension Films via Everett Collection
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For really values its volume. The movie tosses out three or four stories, twenty-odd characters, a handful of car chases, several dozen throat-slittings and skull-bludgeonings… in their return to the cinematic adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel series, Miller and director Robert Rodriguez seemed bent on packing in as much as they conceivably could. The unfortunate result: not quite the intricate, inviting narrative web that the men set out to create, but a straight through-line of nonstop stuff.
In the most egregious sense, too. While we remember Sin City as a relatively patient illustration of Miller’s virtue-deficient neo-noir kingdom, what we find in this year’s follow-up is a feverish race to expose the audience to every idea the directing duo has up its sleeve.
Dimension Films via Everett Collection
So, what we get instead of a fluid story is a whirlpool of events. Each chapter of the clumsily manufactured movie will set you up with a character — an out-of-place Joseph Gordon-Levitt as cocky gambler Johnny, Josh Brolin as a thickheaded do-gooder, and the ragtag team of a destitute Jessica Alba and her devoted muscle Mickey Rourke — only to watch the hero in question stumble upon plot contrivance after plot contrivance, never getting to do much all the while.
And while the style outdoes the substance in the scope A Dame to Kill For’s strong suits, Miller and Rodriguez are not exactly displaying the utmost aesthetic panache in this latest outing. Sure, certain chase scenes are kinetic — and the film might offer the most invigorating visual design of an onscreen hot tub in the history of cinema — but sloppy choreography and a world constructed without depth or sense of place leaves us feeling completely out of touch with the film’s most important character: Sin City.
2.5/5
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